The process of transferring an invalid person from a bed to a wheelchair, to a commode, to a toilet, or to a standing position, or assisting such a person in such a transfer, often involves more than one person to assist, is labor intensive and consequently can be costly. The task frequently requires considerable strength and is a common source of injury to the person being transferred or to the nurse(s) or attendant(s) doing the transfer. These problems often are the major factors that require a person to be hospitalized or moved to a nursing home, rather than being cared for at home. They also increase the cost of caring for persons in hospitals and nursing homes.
Even when a patient is not seriously disabled and may be capable of walking, once he is standing, he may have great difficulty and may require assistance in getting in and out of bed and in getting from a bed to a wheelchair. The patient may also require assistance in reaching a sitting position at the size or end of the bed. The parent application describes an arrangement for transferring an invalid person from a bed to a separate horizontal surface by means of a sheet which was pulled over the surface of the mattress by being rolled up on a roller at the foot of the bed and unrolled from a roller at the head of the bed.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide additional apparatus on a bed equipped with rollers and a transfer sheet, and on an associated wheelchair, so that a patient can be comfortably transported over the bed and partially onto the horizontal seat of the wheelchair and then raised to a normal seated position thereon with no effort on the part of the invalid person. Minimal physical strength or skill on the part of an attendant is to be required according to the present invention.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide means for comfortably transporting an invalid person in a similar manner to a sitting position at the end of the bed or to a standing position on the floor with little or no effort on the part of the person and requiring only moderate physical strength or skill from an attendant.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide apparatus which can be installed on existing hospital or home-type beds so that a person can be comfortably transported to a seated position on a wheelchair, commode, surface, or apparatus, or to a seated or standing position at the end of a bed.
Additional objects and advantages of the present invention will become evident from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.